IIT Kharagpur students demand partial waiver of mess fees

A section of students of IIT Kharagpur have demanded a partial waiver of mess fees and reevaluation of tuition fees for the final year students pursuing MSc degree. Students' Senate Chairman Ninaad Lohakare in a letter to the institute authorities on Saturday said there should be a waiver of the Rs 10,000 mess fee and of hostel overhead charges.

Majority of students left the campus after suspension of offline classes and those who stayed back also mostly left by the end of June, a member of Students' Senate, the official representative body of IIT Kharagpur, said.

"It will cause serious economic stress if we have to pay the mess fee and some other hostel and hall maintenance fees," the student said.

The Students' Senate in its letter claimed it had tried to elicit an official response from the authorities on the fee waiver issue without much success. Acknowledging two other demands by the students body with regard to making available parents income declaration form and reduction in fifth year dual degree plan were sorted out by the management of the premier institute, the letter demanded the administration release an official clarification about the other demands.

"In case that is not done, the students senate will first reach out to MHRD," and even go further, the letter said.

Apart from the waiver of mess fee, the section of students have sought that the fee be halved only for the upcoming semester since the semester would be online, a reduction in the hall establishment charge of Rs 12,500 and the reduction in technology students' gymkhana fee of Rs 600 per semester. Another demand was the extension of the deadline for other components of fees from July 27 by another two weeks.

The institute authorities on July 14 in a notice urged the students to pay the fees before the online classes in autumn semester. IIT Kharagpur Registrar B N Singh could not be contacted. There was no official response from the institute on the demand of the students. 

(Image Credits: IIT Kharagpur)